Child welfare investigations involving exposure to intimate partner violence: Case and worker characteristics

Abstract

Objectives: This paper explores child welfare investigations involving three forms of children’s exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV): direct witness to physical violence, indirect exposure to physical violence, and exposure to emotional violence, and the characteristics associated with these subtypes. These data allow the exposure to IPV typology to be more precisely examined as the subtypes define the specific event(s) investigated. Methods: Using a large representative dataset of an estimated 22,373 investigations, clinical and case characteristics are examined. Bivariate analyses are conducted in order to assess differences for the three forms of IPV. Results: Investigations involving children’s direct witnessing of physical violence was most frequently substantiated and kept open for ongoing child welfare services compared to other forms of exposure. Caregiver risk factors differed significantly between the three subtypes of exposure to IPV. Some worker characteristics were also significantly different (e.g., social work degree, and domestic violence training) depending on the type of exposure IPV being investigated. Conclusions and Implications: These results have important policy and practice implications in that they show that a differential systems response is needed for exposure to IPV, depending on the type of exposure and the child, family, and household risk factors present. The results also suggest that some workers may require additional domestic violence training.